Channing Tatum has said his 22 Jump Street co-star's use of a gay slur was "unfortunate" but not thought through.

Jonah Hill has apologised for using a homophobic word during an encounter with a paparazzo which was caught on camera.

On The Howard Stern show on Tuesday the actor acknowledged that he said "a disgusting word".

At the New York premiere of the sequel, Hill signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans and posed for photos but did not speak to members of the press in attendance.

The reason given was that he had to rush to appear on The Colbert Report.

Tatum spoke up for his co-star: "Look it's unfortunate. I think it's awkward for him obviously because I think people can tell that he didn't mean that.

"It was just the thing out of like a hateful moment when someone was being hateful to him and he said probably the most hateful thing that he could think of and not even thinking. You know, it was unfortunate."

Actor and recording artist Ice Cube, who also reprises his role in the sequel, said it's time to move on: "He apologised. What else can a man do but say he's sorry for saying something stupid?"

Phil Lord, who, along with Christopher Miller, returned to direct the sequel, said it was uncharacteristic for Hill to use such language. "Obviously, it was too bad what happened but the Jonah we know is a lot different than that."

As for the film, Tatum says like 21 Jump Street, the sequel lets the audience feel like they're laughing with the cast as the leads mock the reasons behind the second film being made.